Nowadays, various measurement apparatuses are used for POCT (Point of Care Testing) to be performed at hospitals, clinics, homes, etc., without relying on clinical examination specialists. Examples of such apparatuses include clinical examination apparatuses (see e.g. Patent Document 2) for performing optical reading with respect to an urine test strip (see e.g. Patent Document 1) once dipped in urine, or with respect to a biochemical test piece to which blood serum or blood plasma has been applied. Other examples are optical measurement apparatuses for performing measurement with respect to a cuvette (see e.g. Patent Document 3) with a liquid reagent contained.
FIG. 12 shows an example of conventional optical measurement apparatus (see e.g. Patent Document 4). To the illustrated optical measurement apparatus X, a test instrument Y for immunochromatography is mounted. The test instrument Y is a test piece in the form of a strip provided with a porous carrier 91. The porous carrier includes a plurality of reagent retaining portions 92 which retain a reagent (an immunologic substance, mainly antibodies) fixed to the portion. When a liquid sample such as blood or urine to be analyzed is applied to part of the test instrument Y, the sample infiltrates into the porous carrier 91. When the sample moving through the carrier reaches the reagent retaining portions 92, the sample reacts with the reagent. As a result, the reagent retaining portions 92 produces a color reaction in accordance with the concentration of a particular component contained in the sample.
FIG. 13 shows a typical urine test strip to be used by dipping in urine. The illustrated test strip 910 includes a base 911 in the form of a strip, and reagent retaining portions 912. Each reagent retaining portion 912 is provided on the base 911 and includes a carrier made of a porous matrix such as filter paper in which a reagent is fixed in an impregnated and dried state. When the reagent retaining portion 912 of the test strip 910 is dipped in a urine sample collected in e.g. a paper cup and pulled out, the urine sample infiltrated in the reagent retaining portion 912 through the carrier reacts with the reagent. After the lapse of a predetermined reaction period, the color development of the reagent retaining portion 912 is checked.
FIG. 14 shows an example of conventional optical measurement apparatus for the measurement of a biochemical test piece including a reagent retaining portion to which a sample of urine or blood serum/blood plasma extracted from blood is to be directly applied. The illustrated optical measurement apparatus 920 includes a table 922 on which biochemical test pieces 921 are to be mounted. Each test piece 921 includes a carrier made of at least one of a high polymer compound (e.g. paste represented by water-soluble polymer) and a porous film (such as knit fabric or nonwoven fabric). The reagent retaining portion is provided by fixing a reagent to at least one of the high polymer compound and the porous film in a dry state. To perform measurement using the optical measurement apparatus 920, a liquid sample such as blood or urine to be analyzed is directly applied to the reagent retaining portion of the test piece 921. The sample dissolves the high polymer compound forming the carrier or infiltrates into the porous film. Thus, the sample reacts with the reagent in the reagent retaining portion. After the lapse of a predetermined reaction period, the color development of the reagent retaining portion is checked.
FIG. 15 shows an example of test instrument of a cuvette type. The test instrument 930 shown in the figure includes a plurality of wells 931 and is made of e.g. a light-transmitting resin. Each of the wells 931 is used as a carrier, and a reagent retaining portion is provided by sealing a reagent in a liquid or solid state in the well 931. When a sample is put into a selected one of the wells 931 of the test instrument 930, the sample reacts with the reagent in the well 931. After a predetermined period of time, the well 931, which functions as the reagent retaining portion, develops color in accordance with the concentration of a particular component contained in the sample. Since the well 931 transmits light, the color development is easily checked from the outside.
Referring again to FIG. 12, the optical measurement apparatus X includes a light emitting means 93 and a light receiving means 94. When the test instrument Y is mounted to the optical measurement apparatus X, an instruction to start the test is given to the controller 95 by e.g. the user's operation. The controller 95 performs the light emitting operation for lighting the light emitting means 93 and the light receiving operation for receiving the light reflected by the porous carrier 91 including the reagent retaining portion 92 at the light receiving means 94. By the signal transmission from the light receiving means 94 to the controller 95, the image data of the reagent retaining portions 92 of the porous carrier 91 are stored in the controller 95. By analyzing the image data which corresponds to the color development of the reagent retaining portions 92, the presence or absence of a particular component in the sample is determined.
Though not illustrated, when the test instrument Y is an urine test strip similar to the test strip 910 shown in FIG. 13 or a biochemical test piece, the light reflection during or after the reaction of the sample with the reagent on the surface of the reagent retaining portion 912 (sometimes called a reagent pad) is measured by an exclusive device. When the test instrument Y is of a cuvette-type similar to the test instrument 930 shown in FIG. 15, the light reflection or light transmission after the reaction of the sample with the reagent in the well is measured through the light-transmitting surface of the well.
The test results obtained by the optical measurement are outputted by an output means 96 such as a printer. Based on the output results, the user can recognize the presence or absence of a particular component in the sample.
However, in the case of e.g. tests for influenza which are often performed by immunochromatography, tests for many patients are performed in e.g. a hospital in a short period of time. Thus, it is necessary to properly match each of the test results with the relevant patient. The same type of test piece Y is used for the same test item, and generally, the test result printed by the printer accompanies only the test time and serial number, for example. Thus, when the tests are performed with respect to many patients, the work to match each test result with the patient is troublesome. Moreover, when the tests of a plurality of items such as influenza and allergy are performed, the time required for the tests differs among the test pieces Y. In this case, to match the printed test result with the test item or the patient is more difficult.
Patent Document 1: PCT WO2006/059694
Patent Document 2: JP-A-09-127120
Patent Document 3: JP-A-2001-318101
Patent Document 4: JP-A-2006-250787